Sick Day

Sorry for the silence lately.  I've been sick for almost a week now--just an annoying cold bug with a persistent cough and that tired/dragging feeling.  It's the only two symptoms really (Praise God) but it just has not gone away.  Grace has probably spent too much time on her activity mat and jumper cage thing but she doesn't seem to mind.  She also is probably the healthiest one in our house right now. I've been taking some nursing-safe cough syrup but it doesn't seem to be much help.  The coughing leaves me awake for much of the night, leaving me to be a walking a zombie during the day--I think that's the main source of the tired/draggy feeling.  Nevertheless, as they say, "There's no sick days for moms."

Helping with laundry!

One thing I've done to help me have a type of "sick day" though is my weekly routine.  I learned to do this right away after I was sent home for modified bedrest early into my pregnancy.  I won't get into the specifics of my routine as it's specific to our activities, my level of cleanliness, and the size of our home.  For example, sweeping the entryway everyday may not be important to you but you may not have to walk through a dirt pathway to get to your front porch like we do.  Anyhoo, I separate my routine into Primary and Secondary levels.  Primary chores are chores that must be done to keep the house minimally functioning.  Even if I'm sick, I need to push myself to do these or enlist the help of my husband or relatives/friends if I really can't do it.  They don't have to be a lot.  For us, it's laundry, putting away laundry, dishes, make dinner, make the bed, pick up around the house, and go to the grocery store.  These chores alone don't keep the house pristine but they keep things functioning even if I'm not feeling completely well.  Some are easy to do on my own even while at my sickest; some I do need to delegate to others.  For example, Brad did the grocery shopping last week.

Secondary chores are chores that help keep the house consistently "guest-ready" clean.  These are dusting, vacuuming, sweeping, mopping, washing windows, etc.  I have a schedule for these that range (depending on the chore or area) from everyday, once a week, once a month, to once a season.  A quick note on once a season chores-- I try fit these in whenever we have a fifth weekend in the month.  My once a month or once a season chores are done on Saturdays or squeezed into Friday or Monday if Saturday is full.  When I'm sick, I only push myself to do Secondary chores if I'm feeling really up to it. If I don't get to it, I don't need to beat myself up over it because I know that the house isn't falling apart; it's just a little dusty.  Once I start feeling better, I just start doing whatever secondary chore I have assigned for myself that day.  I know I'll get to the rest of the secondaries as the week progresses so I don't have to over-exert myself to "catch up" once I get better. So, there you have it.  That's how I manage to make a sick day for a mom.